Ready for the federal gas tax to go up 250%?

[eyer]

Currently, the federal tax on every gallon of gas sold is 18.4 cents...

...but the Government Accountability Office is once again floating the Obama administration balloon of raising the federal tax to 46 cents/gallon to finance national highway infrastructure maintenance and improvements.

"Just keeping spending at current levels, the GAO said, would require a near doubling of the gas tax to 32 cents a gallon, and that would jump to as high as 46 cents should the federal government add spending to fix crumbling infrastructure and build new roads."

At the current 18.4 cents/gallon, the "average driver pays about $96 a year in federal gas taxes, said the GAO. Should the administration seek to raise the highway trust fund from $34 billion to the $78 billion needed to fix and maintain roads, that could rise to $248. Translated into a pay-per-mile plan, drivers would face a tax of 2.2 cents per mile compared to the 0.9 cents they pay now. Trucks would pay far more."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/new-p...axes-250-percent/article/2518504#.UPRbEqU1lhQ

The old sales trick is to start high and then negotiate lower...

...if you have to.

So...

...a 250% increase is the starting point.

Which makes this fool feel very wise...

...since I've not purchased a drop of gas for personal use in more than 10 years of weaning now.

 

[phrodeau]

"Everybody's income tax will have to go sky high!"

"Oh, they didn't? OK then, everybody's gas tax is going to go through the roof!"

 

[shoulderblade]

Actually 18.4 cents a gallon is absurdly low. Put it up somewhere and see what happens. Other indusrialized nations pay much higher pump prises due to taxation I would imagine Americans could get used to it.

 

[eyer]

"Everybody's income tax will have to go sky high!"

"Oh, they didn't? OK then, everybody's gas tax is going to go through the roof!"

Don't think the GAO is interested in your patented Stand-up for Dummies routine...

Just keeping spending at current levels, the GAO said, would require a near doubling of the gas tax to 32 cents a gallon...

 

[Sean Renaud]

I would be upset if it went up that far overnight. I pay enough in gas. That said I voted Democrat. I knew higher taxes were part of the plan and if the deficit keeps falling and unemployment follows I'll grin and bear my fair share. Shit needs doing and I guess I gotta shoulder some of it. Though I hope like hell it's not that high.

 

[eyer]

Actually 18.4 cents a gallon is absurdly low. Put it up somewhere and see what happens. Other indusrialized nations pay much higher pump prises due to taxation I would imagine Americans could get used to it.

How do you say Bend over and grab your ankles in Canadish?

 

[coastal-boy]

I wonder how all those roads are maintained? Shouldn't the maintenance be paid for by the users of the system? Or should everyone pay?

 

[XdOu™]

fuck that.. time to buy a electrical car hahah

 

[mercury14]

How should highway maintenance be funded, Eyer?

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

I am greatly in favor of it going up drastically because it hits the low information Obama voter the hardest.


I like to see people get exactly what they vote for.

 

[mercury14]

I am greatly in favor of it going up drastically because it hits the low information Obama voter the hardest.


I like to see people get exactly what they vote for.

How should infrastructure maintenance be funded?

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

fuck that.. time to buy a electrical car hahah

The problem being that the government really, really needs taxes because it has over-promised for votes so they will have to hit electric cars with a milage tax and since most people do not purchase electric cars, they will gladly let that be a very high rate...



... better you than me!
__________________
"Ceterum autem censeo, Liberalismum esse delendum"
A_J, the Stupid

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Lest anyone think electric cars are "new":

 

[mercury14]

The problem being that the government really, really needs taxes because it has over-promised for votes so they will have to hit electric cars with a milage tax and since most people do not purchase electric cars, they will gladly let that be a very high rate...



... better you than me!
__________________
"Ceterum autem censeo, Liberalismum esse delendum"
A_J, the Stupid

The topic here is a gas tax which electric cars wouldn't really have. Just sayin'.

Republicans said we couldn't have a highway maintenance bill that wasn't funded. Or one that was funded by taxing the wealthy or businesses. Or one that was funded by the people who actually use roads. What's their plan then?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

How do you say Bend over and grab your ankles in Canadish?

The word you want is EH.

 

[Busybody]

How do you say Bend over and grab your ankles in Canadish?

Barack

Who SANE?

Obama!

 

[XdOu™]

The problem being that the government really, really needs taxes because it has over-promised for votes so they will have to hit electric cars with a milage tax and since most people do not purchase electric cars, they will gladly let that be a very high rate...



... better you than me!
__________________
"Ceterum autem censeo, Liberalismum esse delendum"
A_J, the Stupid

indeed!

 

[Sean]

So you don't approve of motorists paying for the upkeep of the roads they use. Got it.

 

[chillywilly2]

License bicycles hundred bucks a year. Its about time them freeloaders paid too.

 

[chillywilly2]

I remember back about 30 years ago, it cost me something like $17.00 to fill my truck.

We elected a new government, a minority government, and they put gas tax up.
Overnight It cost $25.00 to fill my truck.

Didn't bother me a bit because I knew we were running too much of a deficit and things needed paying for

Everybody freaked and since it was a minority government the other guys turfed them, had a new election and elected somebody more popular.

It went back to $17.00 to fill my truck, then to $19.00, then to $21.00, in 6 months it cost $28.00 and nobody noticed or said fuckall. Pissed me off though.

You gotta give people a slow easy fucking, not a hard fast one.

 

[MNGuy]

So, the gas tax goes up 250%. The transportation cost of manufacturing and shipping goods and services goes up 250%. So the ripple effect will be that is costs farmers more to grow crops, more to transport it to market, to manufacture the product, ship it to warehouses, distribute it too the retail market.

Great, prices on everything will go up, profit margin for businesses will shrink, business will lay off, cut benefits, reduce wages. Consumer income will fall. People will cut back, buy less, the economy will shrink. The rise in prices may spur inflation.

A win-win situation if I ever saw one.

 

[mercury14]

So, the gas tax goes up 250%. The transportation cost of manufacturing and shipping goods and services goes up 250%. So the ripple effect will be that is costs farmers more to grow crops, more to transport it to market, to manufacture the product, ship it to warehouses, distribute it too the retail market.

Great, prices on everything will go up, profit margin for businesses will shrink, business will lay off, cut benefits, reduce wages. Consumer income will fall. People will cut back, buy less, the economy will shrink. The rise in prices may spur inflation.

A win-win situation if I ever saw one.

Transport costs aren't equal to fuel costs. Fuel cost is just one aspect. Pretty sure transports costs also include vehicles, paying employees, profit margin for the company, fleet maintenance, etc.

So um, third time I'm asking this question which apparently is too much of a brainbuster for conservatives. How should infrastructure maintenance be funded?

 

[chillywilly2]

So, the gas tax goes up 250%. The transportation cost of manufacturing and shipping goods and services goes up 250%. So the ripple effect will be that is costs farmers more to grow crops, more to transport it to market, to manufacture the product, ship it to warehouses, distribute it too the retail market.

Great, prices on everything will go up, profit margin for businesses will shrink, business will lay off, cut benefits, reduce wages. Consumer income will fall. People will cut back, buy less, the economy will shrink. The rise in prices may spur inflation.

A win-win situation if I ever saw one.

Its either that or the whole country goes bankrupt.

Transportation fuel costs are piddly compared to the rest of the costs.

You can't keep getting everything for free.

Canada has way higher gas taxes than the US and our economy is doing just fine....argue that one.

 

[dan_c00000]

If you think Canadian gas prices are high you should check out the prices they pay in Paris or Rome. They're doing fine. They walk quite a bit too and are also less fat. Perhaps there's a connection?

 

[Sean]

*points and laughs at Americans moaning about fuel taxes*